Adjustable selection rim



1941 J. R. HAYWARD ADJUSTABLE SELECTION RIM Filed Feb. 2, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jew/y BY A TTOR Y INVENTOl flay/4nd Nov 11, 1941. R, HAYWARD 2,262,641

ADJUSTABLE SELECTION RII Filed Feb. 2, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIII INVENTOR ATTORN Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE SELECTION RIM Jerry R. Hayward, Kansas City, Mo.

ApplicationFebruary 2, 1939, Serial No. 254,243

6 Claims.

- 'My invention relates to an adjustable selection In the confection of artificial dentures, dentists do not have'much difficulty in providing plates which will function properly in so far as mastication of food is concerned. The primary difference between a good artificial denture and an indiiferent one, is the'matter of appearance. The aim in all cases is to provide artificial dentures, either partial or entire, which will most closely simulate the appearance of the natural teeth and gums.

There are four major considerations which must be taken into account in making a pleasing denture. The size of the teeth, of course, is a primary consideration. The color of the teeth is another consideration. This is of major importance in the case of a partial denture, since the color must substantially match those of the remaining teeth." The form of the teeth must be taken into account since they give character to the wearer. The form of the teeth should be selected with the configuration of the face of the person who is to wear them in mind. The arrangement of the teeth-is another factorand must not be overlooked. Some teeth overlap. Others extend at slight angles to each other. Others protrude more than the rest. A-mechanical even arrangement looks unnatural, and-great skill may be brought to bear by the dentist in providing an arrangement which has the appearance of natural teeth.

Artificial teeth present a different appearance in the mouth than out of it. In the mouth the teeth are moistened by saliva and are in the environment in which they are to be viewed when the teeth are exposed, as in smiling or in speech.

An artificial denture in which the teeth are off-color, off-form, or improperly arranged, is very noticeable, and the appearance of naturalness which may be achieved depends in a large measure upon the skill with which the artificial teeth for the denture are selected.

The procedure now commonly followed by most dentists is to make casts of the gum, of which a base plate'is formed' The teeth are attached to the base plate by a meltable wax. The base plate is then put in the mouth. If a change in size, color, form' or arrangement is necessary, difiiculty is encountered, as the wax must be melted or reworked. Since the selection of artificial teeth for dentures .is largely a matter of trial'anderrontthe procedure 1 followed is tedious.

One object of my invention is to provide an adjustable selection rim, enabling a dentist accurately and readily to select teeth for artificial dentures, either partial or entire, with respect to their size, color, form and arrangement.

Another object of my invention is to provide an adjustable selection rim which may be mounted in the mouth with the teeth under consideration in their natural environment, enabling a true selection to be made.

Other and. further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of the instant specification, and which are to be read in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate likeparts in the various views;

Fig. 1 is a front-elevation of a selection rim according to my invention, showing several'artificial teeth mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the selection rim shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the selection rim shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the selection rim shown in Fig, 1 with'the teeth removed.

Fig. 5is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5, Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a removable handle for handling the selection rim.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail view showing a portion of the wax carrier.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a selection rim similar to that shown in Fig. 2, showing a modification of the latching arrangement.

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the selection rim shown in Fig. 8 with the handle removed.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing my adjustable selection rim mounted in the mouth of a patient.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of a selection rim showing the mounting means in position.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line |2'l2, Fig. 11. a

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of my selection rim similar to that shown in Fig. 4, with the mouth mounting means in position.

Referring now to the drawings, the selection rim proper comprises a flexible member I, which may be made out of spring steel, whale bone, or any other desired resilient material, adapted tobe bowed or flexed into Various curvatures. Mounted upon the flexible member I are a plurality of cup-like members 2, secured to the flexible member I by rivets 3, or' in any'other suitable manner. A member 2 is shown in Fig. '7. The plurality of adjacent members 2 form a trough which will assume the configuration to which the flexible member I is constrained. Pivotally secured to the ends of the flexible member I are a pair of arms 4 and 5 provided with interengaging means, such as teeth 6. Suitable means are provided for normally urging respective teeth on arms 4'and 5 into contact with each other. The teeth 6 are provided with sloping faces, as can readily be seen by reference to Figs. 2 and 8. Secured to the arm 5 by means of rivets I is a band 8. The upper arm 4 is formed with a groove 9. The head ID of member II is adapted to ride in the groove 9. Spring I2 is compressed between the upper face of arm 4 and the underface of band B. The spring normally urges the arms 4 and 5 together engaging the respective teeth on arms 4 and 5, as can readily be seen by reference to Fig. 2.

The curvature of the flexible member I can be readily adjusted by squeezing the ends of the flexible member. The sloping faces of the teeth 6 will allow their overriding 'to give a greater curvature of the flexible member I. If the curvature is too great, the handle III of member II is raised, pulling arm 4 away from arm 5 against the action of spring I2. This allows the flexible member I to unflex.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that any suitable curvature between the limits of the teeth 6 may be readily obtained. The arrangement is such that a very close approach to the curvature of the gum ridge of the patient may be achieved. A plastic wax I4 is molded into the trough formed by the cup-like members 2. The projections I5 formed on the cup members 2 prevent the plastic wax from buckling and constrains it to follow the curvature of the flexible member I.

Another arrangement for latching thearms 4 and 5 is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. In this arrangement a threaded pin I5 is secured to'the lower arm 5, and is adapted to 'pass through a slot II formed in the upper arm 4. A flat spring I8 is compressed between the upper face of arm 4 and a nut I9 carried by the threaded pin I6. The overriding arrangement is again present in this modification. To ,unlatch the arms, the nut I9 is unscrewed to release the tension upon the flat spring I8.

Artificial teeth are provided with pins to enable them to be mounted in the plates. These pins are pressed into the plastic wax I4 and the teeth 20 are mounted as shown in Fig. 1. The

' teeth may be moved to any desired arrangement and can be readily replaced by teeth of different size, color or form.

In the case of a partial denture, I provide a handle 2| for holding the selection rim within the mouth .of the patient. A cup-like member 23 is secured to the flexible member Iby means of a rivet 22 or in any other suitable manner. The removable handle 2'I is provided with an upper end 24 adapted to fit within the cup member 23', so that the selection rim may be held in the mouth of the patient, either by the patient 1 himself or by the dentist. The handle is curved as shown in Fig. 6, so as not to interfere with selection with the teeth in place in the mouth, with the bite in proper relationship. To enable me to do this, I provide a pair of supporting members adapted to support the selection rim in the mouth. Each supporting member comprises a member 24 provided with a lower saddle 25 adapted to embrace the lower gum 26. The member 24 is provided with a plurality of openings 21, through which a screw 28 is adapted to pass. The screw carries a lock nut 29 and is adapted to threadedly engage a threaded opening formed in upper supporting member 30. Upper supporting member 30 is formed with a U-portion 3I adapted to receive the flexible member I. To the upper end of member 30 is pivoted an upper supporting saddle 32 adapted to engage the upper gum 33. When the flexible member I is housed in the U-portion 3|, the screw 28 is turned to clamp themember I, as can be readily seen by reference to Fig. 12. The lock nut 29 is then set up. A pair of supporting members are provided as can be seen by reference to Figs. 10 and 11. The upper saddle 32 is pivoted so that it can be swung out of the way to permit the sliding of the selection rim into the supporting member 3|.

The adjustment of distance between the saddles 25 and 32 is such as to give proper position of the gums when the plates are ultimately in the mouth. The selection rim is clamped between the gums of the patent. and the lips may be closed to moisten the teeth. The patent may then draw back his lips and view the artificial teeth in the environment in which they are to be ultimately used. The dentist may remove teeth and replace them with the adjustable selection rim clamped between the gums of the patient. He may make changes in the arrangement. In this manner the dentist is enabled to readily and accurately. selected teeth for artiflcial dentures.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. I have provided an adjustable selection rim which may be adjusted to the curvature of the gum ridge of the patient. The selection rim is adapted to support the teeth to be selected so that they'may be viewed in the environment in which-they are to be used, enabling the dentist to select teeth of the proper size, color and form, and to make changes in arrangement, making for a natural and pleasing result.

It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This iscontemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit ofmy invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to thes'pecific' details shown and described- Y Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A selection rim for aritificial dentures including in combination an elongated resilient member adapted to be bowed to a curve corresponding to the alveolar ridge, a plurality of cups mounted on said resilient member on the convex side of the curve thereof, said cups forming a trough for holding plastic material adapted to retain artificial teeth, a pair of arms pivoted to said resilient member adjacent the ends there: of, and inter-engaging means carried by said arms adapted to hold said resilient member in predetermined bowed position.

2. A selection rim for artificial dentures including in combination an elongated flexible member adapted to be 'bowed to a curve corresponding to the alveolar ridge, means for mounting artificial teeth on said flexible member, a pair of arms pivoted to said flexible member adjacent the ends thereof, interengaging means carried by said arms adapted to hold said flexible member in predetermined bowed position, and spring means for urging said inter-engaging means into engaged position.

3. A selection rim for artificial dentures, including in combination a flexible member, means for mounting artificial teeth on said flexible member, means for retaining said flexible member in predetermined bowed position, a pair of members, and means for attaching said members to said rim assembly, each of said members being formed with saddles adapted to embrace the alveolar ridges, the construction being such members each formed with saddles adapted to embrace the upper and lower gums, means for adjusting the inter-saddle distance, and means for securingthe selection rim assembly to said members.

5. A selection rim for artificial dentures, comprising in combination a spring member having inherent resiliency urging it to a substantially straight position, a pair of arm pivoted to said spring member adjacent its ends, interengaging means carried by said arms adapted to hold said spring member in predetermined bowed position in a curve corresponding to the alveolar ridge, and means for mounting artificial teeth on the convex curved side of said spring member.

6. A selection rim for artificial dentures, comprising in combination a spring member having inherent resiliency urging it to a substantially straight position, a pair of arms pivoted to said spring member adjacent its ends, interengaging means carried by said arms adapted to hold said spring member in predetermined bowed position in a curve corresponding to the alveolar ridge, a plurality of plastic wax retaining means mounted on the convex curved side of said spring member, plastic wax retained in said wax retaining means for mounting artificial teeth on said selection rim.

' JERRY R. HAYWARD. 

